Judge gives $53k engagement ring to woman dumped via text

A woman dumped by her former fiancé via text message got the last laugh in court, PIX11 reports.

That same text allowed her to keep the nearly 3-karat engagement ring valued at $53,000.

Buffalo restaurant owner Louis J. Billittier Jr. called off his engagement via text back in July of 2012, according to the Buffalo News, because his fiancé, Christa M. Clark wouldn't sign a pre-nuptial agreement. They had been together for 14 months.

"Your(sic) doing this through a text message?" she texted back.

Louis J. Billittier Jr. had no idea that his own text message would be used by a judge to give a $53K engagement ring to his jilted ex.

State law says that normally the spouse is entitled to an engagement ring if the marriage plans don't work out - but not if there is evidence that it was being given as a gift.

It was Billittier's text replies to his jilted former lover that sunk his attempt to get the huge rock back, State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia ruled this week:

"Plus you get a $50,000 parting ring," he said, apparently trying to smooth things over. "Enough for a down payment on a house."

"I certainly referred to the engagement ring as a 'parting gift,'" Billittier said. "That was written during a very emotional period in our relationship, and I certainly had no knowledge of the law relating to gifts in contemplation of marriage. I never intended to give it to Miss Clark."

In the end, Buscaglia ruled that the text implied the Clark could keep the ring as a parting gift.